


Band of Brothers

by Misanagi



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-07
Updated: 2004-12-07
Packaged: 2017-10-12 16:23:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/126800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misanagi/pseuds/Misanagi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Duo's thoughts as he approaches the last battle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Band of Brothers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aka_anonymous](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=aka_anonymous).



> Thanks to Anne for the beta.

'This is it,' thought Duo as he headed towards space, ready to face what would be the last battle of the war. Heero had left a while ago so he could go and fight Epyon with Wing. The rest were following, getting closer and closer to the battlefield.

Duo wasn't scared; fear wasn't an emotion he was used to having. No, Duo was uncertain. He just knew that all the fighting, everything they had done that last year, and even the years before, was going to end that night, and he couldn't say that he was confident of the results. That battle would determine the outcome of the war, and Duo had never felt so insecure in his life.

There was a strong chance that he wouldn't survive the night. He knew when he had become a terrorist that he would probably die young, killed in battle. Duo had accepted that; he wouldn't have been able to fight if he hadn't. The other pilots were the same. Duo could see it in their eyes; their willingness to give up their lives and fight, fight until the last breath. They would all probably die today...

"He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd, And rouse him at the name of Crispian," recited Duo through the com link. The other pilots probably thought he had lost his mind, but Duo couldn't think of a better occasion to recite those verses he had learned so long ago.

"He that shall live this day, and see old age," replied Quatre, "Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, and say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian."

Duo raised an eyebrow. He shouldn't be surprised that Quatre had read the old play too. After all, he came from a rich and important family, so he had probably studied it before. Duo had spent enough time with Quatre to get to know him a bit, and that passage sounded like something Quatre would remember.

The other pilots remained quiet, but Duo could just imagine them sitting in their cockpits, grasping their controls tightly, waiting for the moment the battle would start. It was weird how after one battle they all had finally pushed their differences aside and agreed to work as a team. Team was a word Duo hadn't used in a long time. He had learned the hard way to look after himself. He was a loner, used to doing things his way, worrying about himself and doing the best he could. Now things were different. There were other four people he needed to worry about, four people who would worry about him in just the same way, and maybe the only other four people in the world who could, one day, understand him. And they all were headed into battle, a battle that could very well claim their lives.

"We few," quoted Duo. "We happy few, we band of brothers."

Duo didn't know what having a brother felt like, but in some strange way that was the only word he could think to describe the other Gundam pilots. He hadn't even known them for very long, and they might still have a long way to become friends, but after the last year, they had become brothers.

"For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." Quatre's voice was soft, almost as if he was whispering the words.

The battlefield was near. It was time to stop talking and focus on the fight. Duo wasn't sure what had happened, but in those few moments something had changed, and he wasn't uncertain any more.

And as the Gundam pilots approached the biggest battle they'd ever fought, Duo realized that they wouldn't only be willing to die for peace, but also for each other.


End file.
